I wanted the left edge of the jaw of the front vise to be flush with the left edge of the top, the right edge with the left edge of the left front leg. So the amount of overhang on the left depends upon the width of the front vise jaw. The width of the jaw is, at a minimum, the width of the plate that supports it, but it's normal to make the jaw extend a bit beyond the plate. How far? The more it extends, the deeper a bite you can take with the edge of the vise, when, for example, you are clamping the side of a board being held vertically. But the more it extends, the less support it has. I decided to extend by 1-12", which gives me a 2-1/2" bite, and which should still provide solid support, given that the jaw is 1-1/2" thick. This means the top needs a left overhang of 12-1/4".
The course successfully meets the needs of multiple experience levels in a safe, well equipped, spacious, congenial, and educational environment. All instruction and lab experience is under the personal direction of master woodworkers as well as one or two additional experienced woodworkers/teacher assistants who are on hand during all lab hours providing roughly a three-to-one student-to-instructor ratio. Intermediate to more advanced students should not be put off by the fact that beginners are also included in this course. Check out some of the work done by our alumni in the Alumni Furniture Gallery to get an idea of what our students are capable of.
You're not the first person to say this! I'm half inclined to use the Lowes shed as a starting point for my own design. But I do think I'd feel better if I could work as an "aprentice" next to an "old master". Someone at work is going to put me in touch with a guy who builds sheds for a living, and apparently he's competitive with the prices @ Lowes and HD. The Lowes shed comes with a "Handman Package" that I don't want but would end up paying for, anyway. The "workbenches" were laughably flimsy.
Cut 15 top boards 5 ft. long and rip them to 3 in. wide with a table saw so the top will glue up flat without the typical rounded edges of 2x4s. For the leg slot, cut two of the top boards into three pieces: a 39-in. middle piece and two 7-in. end pieces. Glue and screw the top together, one board at a time, with 3-in. deck screws, keeping the ripped edge facing up and level with the adjoining boards. Use a corded drill so there’s plenty of oomph to drive each screw below the surface. Note that the third glue-up from each end is where each leg notch is inserted. You can also create a nifty tool tray in the top by notching the three top pieces with a jigsaw. Clamp every 8 in. or so before driving in the 3-in.deck screws. Predrill the screw holes near the ends to prevent splitting. When you’re screwing on the 7-in. long 2x4s to create the leg slots, use a scrap piece of 2×4 as a spacer.

Thanks Chris! I found this page while looking for a link to your e-mail address. I recently finished your erudite volumes on workbench design, and am about to embark on my own bench inspired by your take on the Holtzapffel design. As my vices and planer arrive, I’ve been agonizing over whether to use SYP or rough maple for the top. I don’t have a big budget, so all-maple is not an option. But after reading your ten tips here, I’ll stop agonizing — all SYP it is! This is, after all, my first of what I hope are at least several handmade benches. Your scholarship and craftsmanship are truly inspiring.

The 84-906 fits this bill perfectly as the table offers all of the qualities and features that you would expect but does not truly blow you away with any of them. For instance, this bench is made out of rubberwood. This wood is decent in that it provides the strength you want, but it is also extremely porous and rough-grained. The porous nature would generally make it susceptible to rotting and staining, though the bench has been lacquered. The rough grain will potentially cause tools to dull over time if you do not regularly relacquer it.
I ended up making a number of practice cuts. The first revealed that I hadn't tightened the screws on the edge guide enough. The second revealed that the design of the edge guide provided very little support at the end of a board, because of the cut-out for the router bit. In the "Getting Started in Woodworking" video, they had screwed a piece of hardwood to the edge-guide, to provide a continuous -- and longer -- bearing surface. I may do that myself, some day, but I didn't have the materials at hand, so I clamped some 2x4 scrap to the end of each board, to provide a continuous bearing surface past the ends. The two grooves in the long stretchers and the side groove in the short stretchers have identical layout. I made practice cuts in scrap until I had the edge guide set correctly, then I cut them all with that one setting. The bottom groove of the short stretchers uses a different setup, so it was back to the scrap, before cutting them.
I ended up making a number of practice cuts. The first revealed that I hadn't tightened the screws on the edge guide enough. The second revealed that the design of the edge guide provided very little support at the end of a board, because of the cut-out for the router bit. In the "Getting Started in Woodworking" video, they had screwed a piece of hardwood to the edge-guide, to provide a continuous -- and longer -- bearing surface. I may do that myself, some day, but I didn't have the materials at hand, so I clamped some 2x4 scrap to the end of each board, to provide a continuous bearing surface past the ends. The two grooves in the long stretchers and the side groove in the short stretchers have identical layout. I made practice cuts in scrap until I had the edge guide set correctly, then I cut them all with that one setting. The bottom groove of the short stretchers uses a different setup, so it was back to the scrap, before cutting them.
If the holes of the first jaw are in the proper position, drill holes in the same locations on the other jaw. I lined the drilled jaw on top of the undrilled jaw, clamped things down, and then drilled about 1/4" into the undrilled jaw, to mark the location. Then I removed the drilled jaw and drilled out the marked locations the same way I did the first.
All-in-all, the Windsor Design workbench is a nice companion, especially if your budget is limited. It is not as deeply designed and perfected as the other two benches, as there is only one vice, the bench dog holes are drilled through the surface (allowing debris to fall to the top drawers) and the drawers can be a little flimsy if you are not using glue for assembling it, but for the price they offer, there are plenty of perks.

This is technically a vanity factor, though the ability to store tools and other supplies at quick reach can be a time and energy saver. At the least, you will want a bench that comes with a shelf underneath. This will allow the storage of larger items that can otherwise be difficult to find a place for. Drawers are the other popular storage for benches and can make retrieving tools much easier – just make sure the inside of the drawer is lined with felt or the wood may prematurely dull your tools.

Who doesn’t want to have one awesome and handy wooden desk organizer that not only looks beautiful but can store all your mini office desk items properly? See the picture below. I am sure you will love this one. I have already built one myself as I just could not resist having one at my office. This thing easily stores all my office desk essentials, including pen, pencils, marker, small notebooks, etc. in the most organized way. You can see it yourself.

Who doesn’t want to have one awesome and handy wooden desk organizer that not only looks beautiful but can store all your mini office desk items properly? See the picture below. I am sure you will love this one. I have already built one myself as I just could not resist having one at my office. This thing easily stores all my office desk essentials, including pen, pencils, marker, small notebooks, etc. in the most organized way. You can see it yourself.

I would say take the shed, you'll find some use for it. I have contemplated this question also. I have a 20' x 11' basement shop, thats quickly loosing space. If you live in an area with a harsh winters (say the midwest), does it make sense to heat the shop through the week if you are only working in the shop on the weekends? Or do you run the heaters just when you are working in the shop? What kind of heaters are recommended (radient, wood stove, etc.)?
Well, not these plans. You have the option of building a very functional and spacious lean-to shed on different foundations. Your foundation choices are: concrete slab, a wooden floor supported by concrete piers, or a wooden floor supported by skids. That lost option also means that your lean-to could be mobile as well so you won’t have to decide where you want to permanently put it.

If you're using drywall screws, you'll want to countersink the holes. Drywall screws are flat-head, and need a countersink to seat solidly. If you're using Kreg pocket screws, the way I did, you won't want to counter-sink the holes. Kreg screws are pan-head, and seat just fine against a flat surface. Both drywall screws and Kreg pocket screws are self-threading, so you don't need pilot holes in the second sheet of MDF.

Woodworking has a rich place in the history of human civilization. Used for thousands of centuries, it provided early cultures a way to construct shelters, furniture, boats, and more; in doing so, it made life easier and ultimately allowed a society to advance. The art of woodworking continues today, having survived a myriad of design aesthetics (including the not-so-wood-friendly Memphis Design). To pay homage to this ancient craft, one Instagram account called @wooodworking features pieces from different artists and artisans around the world.

Windsor Design is an interesting brand in that it is not actually its own company. Instead, Windsor Design is one of the in-house brands sold by Harbor Freight. While it may be a store brand, that should not dissuade you at all as Harbor Freight is known for selling some of the best products available for all fields of construction. Granted, this may not strictly be the best table available, but it does provide a solid mix of features to make it a good value.
I marked the holes by putting a dowel center in the end of a long piece of 1" dowel. Run it through the holes in the base plate, and bang on its end with a mallet. Rotate it a bit and bang it again, and repeat. Odds are the dowel center won't be precisely in the center of the dowel, so you'll be making a small ring of marks. The center of the hole is, of course, the center of that ring.
This is technically a vanity factor, though the ability to store tools and other supplies at quick reach can be a time and energy saver. At the least, you will want a bench that comes with a shelf underneath. This will allow the storage of larger items that can otherwise be difficult to find a place for. Drawers are the other popular storage for benches and can make retrieving tools much easier – just make sure the inside of the drawer is lined with felt or the wood may prematurely dull your tools.
Chris I blame you for all these altars that are being built today and now you thinks we over thinks ’em–huh. You whipped the masses into a frenzy— now Woodworkers are trying to out pretty each other–out wood species each other –out Rube Goldberg each other. I made 2 benches in 30 years neither had a through dovetail but many were made on them and I have no idea but I would bet a dollar that neither weighed 280 pounds but they both had tons of wood on them. If you want the bench as a destination god bless but it was intended as a mean. Thats my rant I could be wrong
The end vise will have both jaws made out of 1-1/2" thick oak. The front vise has its moving jaw made of 1-1/2" oak, but uses the edge of the bench as its stationary jaw. So while for the end vise, if we mount it lower, we can make both the jaws deeper to compensate, for the front vise we cannot, so we want it mounted as close to the edge of the bench as possible.
The original design had a height of 35-1/8". Their two-layer top was 1-1/2" thick, so their legs were 33-5/8" long. I want a height of 35", but I'm using a top that's 3" thick. My basement floor is anything but level, so I'm using levelers that are adjustable from 3/4" to 1-1/2". In other words, I want legs that are around 31-3/4" long. (If you're not using levelers, your legs need precise lengths. The levelers give about 3/4" of adjustment, so precision is less necessary.
Our sizing options range from 6′ x 8′ to 13′ x 36′, and even larger depending on your chosen style. We’ll work with you to design a custom solution based on your needs and property, with many door options, window options, trim colors, shelves, siding and roofing choices to choose from. We deliver a large portion of our sheds fully assembled using our lightweight “mule,” but we also provide an on-site build option for those really tough to access sites.

A workbench needs to be heavy enough that it doesn't move under you while you're working, and stiff enough that it doesn't rack itself to pieces under the forces that will be placed upon it. It doesn't take many hours of planing a board or hammering a chisel for a worktable made of nailed 2x4s to come apart. Traditional bench designs use mortise-and-tenon joinery, which is strong and rigid, but not really suited for a novice woodworker who doesn't already have a bench.

Require the woodworker to be able to read the plans and to transfer images and dimensions from the plan to the lumber. The wood has been planed and all glued panels are completed unless over 14 inches. If panel required is over 14 inches, one glue seam will be required. The woodworker needs to be able to do some cutting, jointing, assembling and finishing. White Kits do not require planing. White Kits supply all of the needed hand-selected dimensioned lumber, but woodworking knowledge and tools will be useful to complete the project successfully.
The base needs to be as wide as the sum of width of the guide strip and the distance from the edge of the shoe, plus a bit extra, With my saw, the overhang is 3-1/2", so I made my guide strip 5-1/2" wide. The distance between from the edge of the shoe to the blade is about 4-1/2", so the base needs to be at least 10" wide. Since I was working with a 24" wide sheet, I just sliced it down the middle.
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Had a great experience at the shop! My schedule is hectic and unfortunately can't make the classes, but I did do a private lesson with Bob. In one afternoon, we created two cutting boards. Bob was very detailed with breaking down the process and using the machines. Honestly didn't expect to make two cutting boards but Bob was proficient with time. I got really comfortable using the machines especially the table saw. I learned how to use the planer, jointer, miter saw, table saw, drill press, router, disk sander, and random orbital sander. Really recommend folks that are interested in woodworking with little to no experience to take the Safety Orientation and the Cutting Board class or private lessons. Looking forward to my next project at the shop!

Working with reclaimed wood is a savvy use of resources, and the material's country appeal is undeniable. With just a saw and a small drill, you can reuse old fencing to make these simple woodworking projects: picket-inspired picture frames. Finish them off by hot-gluing clothespins or bulldog clips to hang your prints. Here’s a step-by-step guide.

I thought my first wood working bench was great.A heavy c channel metal frame with a recycled maple floor top with a guick release 7 in vice on the side.It is about 40in by 54in and can hold a hemi no problem. I waxed the top till it was nice and resistant to whatever was dripped on it. Only problem is I was thinking like a gear head not a wood worked.Work piece would slide and no decent clamping on the sides. I figured if I wanted to get somewhat serious about this woodworking thing I needed a real bench not a table with a vice. I read the books and with so many choices I chose a Roubo split top from Benchcrafted it would let me use it for both power and hand tools. I just finished it a week ago and it is nice not to have to chase my work across the bench. I couldn’t find a clear answer for a top coat for the bench I chose to leave the soft maple nude. So I guess I have a bench tbat has a lack of modesty.

Anyway, I'd like to know if I'll be able to keep (EDIT: and use) all my tools out there (current and planned) without having the shed become a rust-bucket for the tools and machinery inside. I'll have a 10" contractor's saw out there along with a drill press, a sanding belt, a router & router table, and lots and lots of old tools that I inherited from my Granddad years ago. I live in the Seattle area, so it rains A LOT. But I'm hoping that with the proper ventilation I can keep the tools in the shed dry.